PANAMA

Nicholas Johnson Payton Keen

Panama is located in Central America between Colombia and Costa Rica.

It spans from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

Panama has a total area of 78,200 sq. km.

Climate

• Panama has a tropical maritime climate which is hot, humid and cloudy.

• It has pronounced wet and dry seasons; The wet season, winter from May through November, and the dry season, summer from December through April.

Physical Characteristics

• Panama Canal was started in the 1880s but was not complete until the 1900s.

• The canal was created to have a passage between the Americas to travel from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

• The three locks along the canal are the Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and the Miraflores.

Terrain

• Interior is mostly steppe.• Coastal areas are largely plains and rolling

hills.

Land Use & Elevation

• Highest point in Panama is Volcan Baru.

• Land Use – 8% Arable Land, 2% permanent crops and 90% other.

Natural Hazards – occasional severe storms and forest fires.

Who?

• Ramen Metros, Urban Empty Nesters and Home of the Brave• More than 2/3 of the population is made of up mixed American

Indian and white ancestry and mixed black and white ancestry. The rest of the people are of unmixed American Indian, black or white ancestry.

Population of Panama3,516,820.

Panama City

Language

• Official language of Panama is Spanish. English is commonly spoken by many Panamanians.

Religion

• About 85% of the people are Roman Catholics.

• Most others are Protestant.

Food• Panamanians mostly eat fruits, shrimp,

chicken, rice, beans and tortillas.

Government

Panama is a Republic• Must be 18 or older to vote in an election• They have a National Government as well

as a Local Government divided into 9 provinces.

Economy

• Free Market economy with low inflation• 80% of its GDP is primarily based on it’s

well developed services sector.

GDP $50.25 billion (2011 est.)GDP growth 10.6% (2011 est.)GDP per capita $13,600 (2011 est.)

GDP by sector agriculture: 4.3%; industry: 16.6%; services: 79.1% (2011 est.)

Panama

Resources

• http://www.languagecrossing.com/Destinations/Panama/Climate_of_Panama/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama• http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm• http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcpanama.htm• http://www.zillow.com/local-info/FL-Panama-City-people/r_4697

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• http://agcsret.users.mywdo.com/Panama.htm• http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2030.htm